Catapult is a 2-day build challenge full of coding, building, and pitching. This is a collaboration between Founders and Machine Learning at Purdue with the goal to inspire innovative entrepreneurs and coders to craft business viable solutions in the AI space with positive impacts across various sectors.
When: Fall 2024
Where: Wilmeth Active Learning Center (WALC)
Pitch videos coming soon!
Odyssey - Overall Winner
Datasphere - Runner Up
Sonder - Most Promising Business Model
SignMe - Greatest Social Impact
PixelProof - Best Pitch
View The Project Vault »
Goals
You and your team will dream up, code, brand, and market an entire project in 24 hours! At the end, you will pitch your project to VCs and judges to win from a prize pool of $2000 and select items.
Interactive Activities
There are tons of interactive activities throughout Catapult, giving you a ton of opportunities to learn new skills! Plus meet amazing mentors from the most innovative companies!
Teams
Teams are comprised of 1-6 people and should consist of hackers, hipsters, and hustlers. Hackers build products, designers create the pitch deck and marketing content, and hustlers draft a viable business plan.
Definitions
Hackers: The Engineering/Coding Genius
Hipsters: The Designer/Creative Genius
Hustlers: The Marketer/Business Genius
Every skillset and every person has value.
Amenities
We've got some yummy food planned distributed throughout the event and have designated working spaces and collaborative environments. The menu includes Chick Fil A, Panera, McAlister's Deli, Arni's, Domino's, and Sam's Club.
Applying
Students from any university can apply, but transportation and lodging is not provided. Priority admission is given to Purdue students. In the past, we have welcomed many students from UIUC, Notre Dame, UMichigan, GeorgiaTech and more.
Participant Guidelines
- All participants must be university students.
- All Purdue participants must be in-person.
- No virtual teams.
- You don't need a team to apply.
Problem Statement
Projects aren't limited to a problem statement. Teams must identify a problem space to create a viable solution. Example industries include: healthcare, finance, social, and education.
Judging Rubric
All projects are evaluated on a pre-determined rubric. After deliberation, your judging rubric will be given back upon request.
Incorporation + IP
You do not need have a legal entity in order to compete in Catapult. We (nor Purdue) owns any IP you generate. It is yours to keep and develop.
